(Michelle) Obama Violates Election Laws?

The male of the species is not the only one who believes he is above the law. It appears Michelle Obama may have violated Illinois state election laws on Thursday by openly campaigning inside a polling place.

The first lady spoke to admirers and posed for pictures after casting a ballot inside Chicago’s Martin Luther King Center on Thursday. According to one of the people she spoke with, 56-year-old electrician Dennis Campbell, “She was telling me how important it was to vote to keep her husband’s agenda going.” A Chicago Sun-Times reporter apparently said this took place inside the center.

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Engaging in any political discussion is illegal within 100 feet of any polling place in Illinois – and indeed, in many other states. That is why, for instance, no campaign flyers or literature is allowed within many feet of an election site.

Illinois state law -- Sec. 17-29 (a) -- states: “No judge of election, pollwatcher, or other person shall, at any primary or election, do any electioneering or soliciting of votes or engage in any political discussion within any polling place [or] within 100 feet of any polling place.”

A top Ilinois [sic.] State Board of Elections official tells the DRUDGE REPORT that Mrs. Obama -- a Harvard-educated lawyer -- may have simply been ignorant of the law and thus violated it unintentionally.

“You kind of have to drop the standard for the first lady, right?” the official explained late Thursday. “I mean, she's pretty well liked and probably doesn’t know what she's doing.”

“Doesn’t know what she’s doing?” No, that would be her husband.

It seems incomprehensible that Michelle Obama – who is not only a Harvard Law School grad but also the wife of a candidate who has conducted numerous campaigns for office in the state of Illinois – would be ignorant of the law.

Disregard is not the same as ignorance.

Perhaps most concerning is the attitude of the Board of Elections official, who told Drudge, “You kind of have to drop the standard for the first lady, right?” On the contrary, many of us believe the president and first lady should set the bar for the entire nation.

The Obamas are not held to one standard and the rest of the country to another. The Founding Fathers risked their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to establishing a constitutional republic governed by laws, and not men. Our political ruling class’s contempt for the laws of our system – and constitutional boundaries of our government, by members of both parties – has brought our country to the edge of the legal and economic abyss it currently faces. That is the entire reason for this website, our sisterwebsites, and all our struggle – to uphold the rule of law against encroaching tyranny.

The best remedy for this situation would be a swift enforcement of Illinois state law against Michelle Obama. The best remedy nationally would be similar action against her husband, and a voter backlash against their congressional enablers next month.